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Saturday, December 31, 2011

Hope the plans for the NEW YEAR EVE are going well. I am kind of bored though. By the time this post would be published, I would have been riding my dads bike on a wild goose chase kind of adventure!! :-) .. Yippe!!

Ever wondered what to do when bored on the Internet? Got irritated trying to browse through all those TROLL pictures on the facebook? Here is a list of websites which I surf often (to pass time online).

In case you too derive happiness by reading something, in case you want to read something to come out of boredom then check these sites out:

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

How is the week going on? Mine is good thanks to Christmas, Boxing day, New Year and all. Well ... My apologies too, for I am becoming more and more lazy in posting / blogging / commenting / carrying out my daily routine.

Were you afraid anytime? Had insecurities? Hmmm.. yeah, I do have them even now. I am afraid of the unknown. Sometimes about being left alone by my friends (for whatever the reason), afraid of failing and afraid of being ridiculed.

Few moments ago *read .. before starting this post* I was reading the GUNS OF NAVORINE by MacLean, Alistiar. The book is of genre World War II fiction. *I shall do a review of the book and give out more details from it later*. For now, I am impressed by the book and intend to complete it yet enjoy every reading the book.

Here is a small excerpt from the book:

--x--

"Now I know you _are_ new to this game, Andy." He smiled again. "Maybe you think I was laughing and singing all the way up that cliff? Maybe you think I wasn't scared?" He lit a cigarette and gazed at Stevens through a cloud of drifting smoke. "Well, I wasn't. 'Scared' isn't the word--I was bloody well terrified. So was Andrea here. We know too much not to be scared."

"Andrea!" Stevens laughed, then cried out as the movement triggered off a crepitant agony in his boneshattered leg. For a moment Mallory thought he had lost consciousness, but almost at once he spoke again, his voice husky with pain. "Andrea!" he whispered. "Scared! I don't believe it!"

"Andrea _was_ afraid." The big Greek's voice was very gentle. "Andrea _is_ afraid. Andrea is always afraid. That is why I have lived so long." He stared down at his great hands. "And why so many have died. They were not so afraid as L They were not afraid of everything a man could be afraid of, there was always something they forgot to fear, to guard against. But Andrea was afraid of everything--and he forgot nothing. It is as simple as that."

He looked across at Stevens and smiled.
"There are no brave men and cowardly men in the world,my son. There are only brave men. To be born, to live, to die--that takes courage enough in itself, and more than enough. We are all brave men and we are all afraid, and what the world calls a brave man, he, too, is brave and afraid like all the rest of us. Only he is brave for five minutes longer. Or sometimes ten minutes, or twenty minutes--or the time it takes a man sick and bleeding and afraid to climb a cliff."

--x--

So what do you think? It is wrong to be afraid? The books says guarding against all physical dangers is how you survive @war field. But what about insecurities of the heart? of the mind? Is there a way out?

Saturday, December 17, 2011

How is life going on? Enjoying the weekend? Planned a lot? Hope it all goes well. I have been reading a little of late and here is a review of the book I was going trough:

--x--

The Heart and the Fist
The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL by Eric Greitens

After the disastrous reading of SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper which had no action, no intensity of what a book on SEALS must have, I was left searching for a good book on SEALS.

I picked up the Heart and the Fist as it sounded a little weird to be a book on SEALS. As soon as I started going through the book Heart and Fist by Eric Greitens, I was damn sure I wouldn't put down the book until I am done with it. I thought I was reading the wrong book more than once because the first part was all about Humanitarian aid and life of people who faced choas.

What is striking is not just the work done by author in his tours in Bosnia Rwanda Boliva. But the way in which he inferred why he is working, the way in which he explains what has to be done, the way he shows that people in relief camps have to go back to thier normal life. The determination with which he keeps on going to help people, the conviction he has to bring a smile on someone's face are all inspiring.

Eric Greitens speaks and his words do appeal to the human heart about the kids in Boliva homes, in war trodden zones of Rwanda and Bosnia. The authors approach to stories of faith and struggles of people is awesome.

When the second part of the book, explianing why author choose to join the armed forces of USA begins, you are ready for an action packed book on Navy Officers and then on SEALS. The training phase, the HELL week, the stress and pressure on everyone during training are all covered well. All the time speaking from heart, speaking about courage, pain, endurance, training, grit and sweat. I loved the chapter on HELL week and the calm and coolness with which it is described.
The diplomatic struggles the author had, the challenges he faced as Officer, the way he needed to find out solutions to problems caused due to paper work / tradition and all such do make you wish you get into the ARMY soon.

Bottom Line:
I do recommend this book for anyone who wants a new approach to life, who wants to read a little about SEALS and the army

--x--

Know any similar books? Kindly do recommend them. Consider buying me a beer or two using the donate option above.

Monday, December 5, 2011

How is life going on? Mine is coming back to normal pace slowly. Life became hectic due to Semester Examinations, work and other such reasons. Missed blogging, blogging friends a lot.

Now, that I have six more months before another hectic phase of my life *read next round of exams* I decided to take a few goals and resolutions.

Grace Of God

For the first time of my life, I was afraid of failing in exams and cursed myself like hell for not starting my preparation earlier. But the grace of god was sufficient for me to clear these exams. Clearly understood why not to waste time from now on.

My goals to be completed before my next exams in June 2012 include:

Major Goals:

Exercise regularly and loose about 2 pounds per month or more

Prepare well and complete four papers in the next exam

Learn the art of creative writing and complete a book say of 60k words

Other important goals:

Horse Riding

Learn horse riding and ride well for 20 hours or more

Earn driving license go on a long ride of 500 km or more on bike

Increase online presence with respect to blogging, participation in flash fiction challenges, writing challenges and such

Ensure that I read no more than four novels per month

Hope I achieve them all and learn a lot more. Let me see what I can do about all of them. You have any similar resolutions / aims? Care to share them please and the source of motivation to complete them?